Battle Scars
by magicmumu
Summary: "Show me yours I'll show you mine." Cartinelli-ish (pre-slash, Angie sided crushings going on)


Battle Scars

By Erin Griffin

Fandom: Marvel's Agent Carter

Pairing: Peggy/Angie, Cartinelli

"Peggy? Pegs? You here?" Angie called through the mansion. It was too big, but Angie loved it there. She tilted her head slightly to listen for any sound of her roommate, and when she heard nothing, went directly to her own room. Then she heard the sound of water, which confused her somewhat. Angie followed the sound, and saw that the sound was coming from the bathroom in between where both women had claimed their bedrooms. The water running didn't sound as if it was from the bath tub, but a little softer. It wasn't the sound coming from the sinks either. Angie knocked on the door.

"Yes?"

Angie opened the door slowly. "Peggy?" she asked when she saw the bathtub that had been there that morning when she had left for her audition across the city was no longer there. Well, not THAT one, the large bathtub carved at the legs to look like those of a Griffin or maybe a sphinx. No, this bath tub was a little bit smaller, and lower to the bathroom floor. There was a curtain up now, which hid Peggy from view. Angie was both relieved and disappointed by this.

"Angie?"

"Yep, who else?"

"I was hoping one of the men who installed the shower hadn't forgotten something," Peggy replied as the running water stopped, and Angie turned her back so that she didn't watch Peggy exit the shower.

"One of Howard's insistences again?" Angie asked. This wasn't the first time new inventions and commodities were added to the mansion just that week alone – the dishwasher down in the kitchen had been put in that Sunday while Angie had been to dinner with her parents. Angie had hoped there would be a time where she would get used to coming home to find her new place had entered even further into the new age. She was just glad that none of these new installations entered her room, and Angie was sure she had Peggy to thank for that.

"Who else?" Peggy said, echoing Angie's earlier words.

Angie smiled at this, and turned her head slightly as she spoke again, "So, did it pass the first test, then?"

"It beats bathing under a waterfall after hiking for a week."

"That's a story I have to hear," Angie said, and then added when her eyes spotted darkened skin on Peggy's shoulder. "As well as how THAT happened." She turned to look at Peggy now that her friend was covered with a towel.

"Wha-? Oh that."

Angie raised her eyebrow at the casual tone her friend had taken. "Yeah, THAT."

Peggy chuckled and moved past Angie, opening the bathroom door and moving towards her bedroom, Angie following after her. "My life is dangerous, you know that." When she left the door open behind her as she entered her room, Angie took that as the invitation it was and followed her into the bedroom.

"Those bullet wounds?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yes," Peggy said as she went to her closet and began selecting her night clothes. Angie kept her back to Peggy, but the mirror to her right had the agent's movements, if she allowed her eyes to stray there.

"I guess I never considered the long term effects of the job before. I mean, I guess I'd rather have scars from something I did that was worthwhile, instead of the ones from the grill, ya know?" Angie said as she tried to keep her eyes focused on the closed bedroom door.

"You have scars too?"

"Yeah, a few. A burn on my arm from the grill when I helped Shady on a bad day at my first waitressing gig, stepped on glass as a kid an' got a mark on my big toe, got nicked by my brother when he was high off something he got from Cousin Jamie but we don't really like to talk about THOSE three weeks… Oh! And a small cut on my knee when I tried to shave the hairs on my legs using my dad's razor when I was twelve." Angie rattled off.

"Seems to me you've got more scars than I have," Peggy said. "I'm an agent and you're a bit of a lout."

"Hey!" Angie protested.

"I'm dressed," Peggy announced, and Angie turned to face the agent now.

"Those the only scars you got then, English?"

"Of course not." Peggy walked towards Angie, rolling up the sleeve to reveal her right arm. "Knife fight," she said, then pulled up her pant leg on the same side and said, "bad landing when I jumped out of a car," Then she moved her hair to reveal a small scar on the back of her neck. "Noose."

"Jesus, Peggy," Angie murmured. She lifted her shirt to show the cut on her stomach. "This where Ricky nicked me."

"You mean he stabbed you. MY knife scar is smaller than yours, and the blade went in really deep," Peggy said, concern in her voice. She reached forward and placed the pad of her index and middle finger to the scar. Angie chuckled nervously and dropped the fabric of her shirt on top of Peggy's hand, causing the agent to move her hand. The younger woman tried not to blush, but she felt the heat of her cheeks anyway. She cleared her throat.

"Like I said, we don't like talkin' 'bout that month," Angie said.

"Aw, now I have to know."

"Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine?"

"Over wine?" Angie asked. "I want to try out that shower and then I want to eat everything that is available."

"That bad of an audition?" Peggy asked.

"Don't you know it," Angie replied.

"Well, I'll get dinner tonight. You take your time."

"You're too good to me," Angie said, turning to the door and preparing to leave, and then she said, "It'll be nice to share some of those stories, actually." She shrugged, a shy smile on her face. Peggy returned the smile and Angie left.

That night, after apple pie and wine, Angie found herself on the sofa covered by a fast asleep Peggy, her nails lightly scraping over the knife scar on the agent's right arm. She still couldn't believe she had told the older woman the Martinelli family's darkest secret, but Peggy took it all in and didn't judge Angie for the things she'd had to do in that month. She also heard the story of Peggy's knife fight, as well as a few of the countless others she had been in. "Well, we're safe now," Peggy had said when Angie's face displayed horror for more than a few seconds. Angie had to agree.

"Yeah, I've never felt safer with anyone but you, Peg."

"Same here," Peggy admitted. There was a pause then, both women's eyes on each other as they thought about the truth of this statement. They both knew how big of a statement this was coming from Peggy, and Angie felt honored knowing that she made someone like Peggy Carter feel safe. As if to further prove this, Peggy kissed her cheek and then leaned on Angie's shoulder, her voice dropping in sleepiness, and soon had fallen asleep on Angie. The actress dare not move now.


End file.
